Knight Time
"Knight Time" is the forty-third episode of . It depicts the first time Superman visits Gotham. After learning that Batman is missing, Superman goes to Gotham and pretends to be Batman in order to prevent crime from rising. In the end, he discovers that Batman's disappearance has something to do with an old nemesis of Superman's. Plot Roxy Rocket flies through Metropolis on her personal rocket, closely pursued by Superman. She dives under a tunnel, only to find Superman at the other end. She takes the risk of flying right at him, but he manages to snatch her off the rocket, which crashes harmlessly in the bay. Superman is amazed that even Roxy would be daring enough to make trouble in Metropolis, but she shrugs and informs him that Batman has gone missing and Gotham City is now overrun with crooks. Out in Gotham, a couple of criminals rob a store of its jewelry on the belief that the police are too busy to come and Batman won't show. However, they failed to reckon with Robin. He easily foils the robbery, only to find the robbers had reinforcements, but before they can shoot Robin, Superman shows up and subdues the crooks. Superman then consults Robin about Batman's whereabouts. Robin explains that Batman claimed he'd be away on business but none of his partners believed it. Batgirl and Nightwing traced a call to Romania and follow the lead, leaving Robin alone. When the Bat-signal goes up, Robin claims that crime gets worse every time Batman doesn't show. Superman vows that Batman will this time. Out on the roof of the Gotham Police Department, Commissioner Gordon and Renee Montoya wait in vain for Batman. However, just as they give up, Batman and Robin appear. Commissioner Gordon informs Batman that Bane has returned to Gotham and is now twice as strong as he used to be. Batman and Robin leave, revealing that Superman is actually in Batman's outfit and disguising his voice. They go to Wayne Enterprises to investigate the messages sent by Bruce Wayne. The call claims that Bruce went on vacation but a previous call to Robin claimed that he would be at work. Robin traces the call to New Zealand, but neither he nor Superman believe the trace to be real. Superman investigates the papers in the room and discovers nanites crawling on their surface. Looking at the phone, he discovers a needle and realizes that Bruce is under some kind of mind control. Together, Superman (as Batman) and Robin interrogate the Penguin about the whereabouts of the Mad Hatter. After some convincing, he confides in them that the Mad Hatter is meeting with the Riddler and Bane. The three criminals intend to control Gotham City with Riddler acting as a jailer, Mad Hatter as a puppeteer and Bane as an enforcer. However, "Batman" and Robin appear to foil their plans. Robin manages to knock down Riddler and cuff him to the cage he intended to catch Robin in. Bane engages "Batman" in a fierce battle, but "Batman" pummels Bane into submission with relative ease, stunning Bane greatly. After a short chase, they capture Mad Hatter who is no match for Superman's speed. At police headquarters, Mad Hatter examines the nanites and surprises "Batman" and Robin by telling them that the robots are not his. In fact, the nanites are far more advanced that any Earth technology he's ever seen, suggesting they may even be extraterrestrial in origin. Looking for more of a lead, Superman and Robin go to the Batcave to research what little they know. Because of the alien origin of the nanites, it's difficult to tell what the aliens want Bruce for. He checks the message sent to Lucius Fox and hears rocket exhaust in the background, whereupon Robin realizes that Bruce must be at Wayne Aerospace, which is supposed to be abandoned. The team heads to Wayne Aerospace and discovers there is in fact a group of technicians working on a new rocket that has Kryptonian features. Bruce comes onto the scene and tells his staff they can go home, and the staff members leave in confusion. After they have gone, Brainiac reveals himself as the mastermind behind Bruce's disappearance. He's about to kill Bruce on the basis that he's outlived his usefulness, but "Batman" intervenes and stops him. Brainiac is unconcerned, as he believes he is facing Batman, but soon finds he's fighting Superman. Superman confronts Brainiac, but is unable to prevent him from launching his rocket. Still, Superman follows him into space, and though it seems Brainiac has gained the upper hand, Superman manages to destroy the rocket and his foe's new body. Back on Earth, Batman is returned to normal because the nanites in his body have begun to self-destruct harmlessly. Superman cautions him on checking his computer systems anyway, and leaves with a compliment towards Robin. Continuity * Robin says that Batgirl and Nightwing are searching for Batman's trail in Romania to look for Ra's al Ghul. * Superman (as Batman) alluded to Brainiac infecting LexCorp's computers in "Stolen Memories" and "Ghost in the Machine", and refers to Wayne Enterprises' brief partnership with LexCorp in "World's Finest". * Batman is indirectly refers to this episode in the episode "Twilight". * Robin attends Superman's funeral in Metropolis in the episode "Hereafter". * Batman presumably refers to this episode's events while speaking with uncharacteristic disgust about Brainiac in the episode "A League of Their Own". Background information Home video releases * * Superman: The Complete Animated Series (DVD) * Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2DVD, Blu-ray only) * Superman SuperVillains: Brainiac (DVD) Production notes * When Superman (as Batman) punches Bane for the first time, there's a full screen frame of a fire explosion, which is reused footage from "Where There's Smoke" when Volcana blasted Superman with a fire ball in the parking lot. This is used again later when Superman blows up the lasers of Brainiac's ship. Production inconsistencies * When Bane hits the ground, unconscious, the dust he kicks up travels outward and under Superman's foot, rather than outward and over it. * When the Mad Hatter examines the nanites, he is handcuffed to the table. But when he says they are of alien origin, the cuff on his wrist disappears. * When Brainiac burns away the Batsuit Superman is wearing, Superman's bare chest can be seen. But when he steps out of the fire seconds later, he is shown to have been wearing his own costume (sans cape) underneath Batman's costume. * Despite the fact that he's a living computer and should show no emotion, Brainiac is clearly seen doing so on two occasions: he smiles when Superman is restrained against the rocket, and is shocked when the rocket begins to explode. Trivia * This is the first time Superman has shown up in Gotham rather than Batman coming to Metropolis. * Bane's quote that he wanted to feel Batman's "spine crumble in my hands" is a reference to the Batman comic story arc "Knightfall", which famously depicted Bane breaking Batman's back over his knee. * This is the only time in the DCAU that Superman uses his ability to imitate any voice. * This episode also continues the "tradition" of Bane appearing only once in any DCAU series he features in. * When Superman (as Batman) lifts the statue, Robin "explains" it by saying that he has been "working out". Clark Kent does the same thing in Superman II. * This episode marks the final appearances of the Riddler and Mad Hatter in the DCAU. Roddy McDowall (Mad Hatter's voice) died on October 3, 1998, one week before this episode aired. Cast Quotes Category:A to Z Category:Crossover episodes Category:Superman: The Animated Series episodes